[The Wanderer]

Yeah, I'm not disagreeing with you but there certainly is value in defining happiness and maybe even creating a procedure on how to obtain it. After all, who wouldn't want the comfort of knowing that if they follow a step-by-step guide then they too can obtain happiness? The appeal is immense.

True; having an very accessible way to obtain happiness does have its appeal.

[antahon]

Many people here confuse happiness with heroin.



The consumption of heroin is marked by a euphoric rush, a warm feeling of relaxation, a sense of security and protection, and a dissipation of pain, fear, hunger, tension and anxiety. When heroin is snorted or smoked, the rush is intense and orgasmic. Subjectively, time may slow down. Any sense of anger, frustration or aggression disappears. Users enjoy the feeling of "being wrapped in God's warmest blanket".

[CowboyBarry]

Interesting perspective, and one which has also crossed my mind. Now I'm curious about the definitions (there are more interesting ones than the ones listed below that might be more what you mean).

When your ultimate goal is to maintain constant happiness, you'll find that what was previously sufficient grounds for happiness eventually becomes your necessary baseline for contentment. Lottery winners often experience this. Winning all that money brings a flood of initial happiness, but once they grow used to their lifestyle the money becomes just a normal part of their lives.

Chasing happiness is like chasing the carrot dangled in front of a horse. It's always two steps ahead of you.

Contentment is being satisfied with being exactly where you're at, carrot or no carrot.

[nadjasix]

I don't believe in happiness as a goal, and I don't even enjoy it that much when I feel it. Fleeting and not that special. I find it kind of blah and boring. I like more 3-dimensional brain states.

[Bazinga187]

I'm almost certain that I will spend the entirety of my life in the pursuit for happiness. I will set a goal, achieve it, feel proud/happy for a bit and then move on. I seem to believe that the grass will be greener on the other side, so oddly, I'm more content when I'm not happy. Then I feel like I'm working towards something and that gives me peace of mind.

[x01660]

As long as I have a warm place to sleep, a quiet place to think, and my close friends (i.e. 4 people) are all out of harm's way and not needing for anything, then I'm happy.

And I'm also realizing that I live extremely "in the moment" in my head. Don't think about the future as it relates directly to me...

And I'm happy when I daydream, which is all the time...

:)


x01660

[Ista]

This book seems popular amongst INTPs.

More Bertie Russell, Conquest of Happiness:

Quote continued:

p. 43, "I do not deny that the feeling of success makes it easier to enjoy life.... Nor do I deny that money, up to a certain point, is very capable of increasing happiness. What I do maintain is that success can only be one ingredient in happiness, and is too dearly purchased if all the other ingredients have been sacrificed to obtain it."

p. 74, "The essentials of human happiness are simple, so simple that sophisticated people cannot bring themselves to what it is that they really lack."

p. 94, "[R]emember that your motives are not always as altruistic as they seem to yourself... don't overestimate your own merits... don't expect others to take as much interest in you as you do in yourself."

p. 99, "No satisfaction based upon self-deception is solid, and however unpleasant the truth may be, it is better to face it once and for all, to get used to it, and to proceed to build your life in accordance with it."

p. 107, "One should respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny, and is likely to interfere with happiness in all kinds of ways."

p. 109, "Happiness is promoted by associations of persons with similar tastes and similar opinions."

p. 123, "The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile."

p. 142, "In the best kind of affection a man hopes for a new happiness rather than for an escape from an old unhappiness."

[Andraste]

Happiness to me is merely the increase of serotonin production in the brain.

[testmaus2]

Happiness to me would be being free to do fun stuff and be appreciated every once in a while.

Kinda like Maru:



*squeak*

[ManWithoutHats]

I am not sure. Right now I am content, but reflecting on happiness is quite difficult. Certain memories I recall as happy and I can remember what it feels like to be happy.. but what/why/how? Not sure. A few things that make me happy:
-A good conversation
-Starting a project
-Nostalgic things
-Being complemented in a meaningful way for something you actually feel like you deserve (a damn rare kind of complement)
-Helping people (not when its taken for granted, has to be out of the blue)
-A good bout of Hypomania usually leaves me feeling quite exuberant

As far as long lasting true happiness, I have no idea. It would probably involve not being an INTP...